Thousands of Police Staff among Workers Set for Strike Ballot

Article excerpt

THOUSANDS of police staff, including community support officers, could be due to walk out in an ongoing dispute over pay.

Members of GMB, Unite and Unison who are among civilian staff employed by the police have voted in favour of a ballot on potential industrial action after they were offered a 1% pay offer.

Union leaders said 85% of 2,500 members among police staff backed the ballot over industrial action. It is believed across Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland Police there are around 4,500 civilian staff working, including call handlers, admin staff, community support officers, crime scene investigators and finance staff.

Peter Chapman, a Unison representative and lead for police staff in the North East, speaking from the Police Staff Conference in Southport, said: "We've already had a consultive ballot where we asked members if they object to the pay offer of 1% and if they are willing to take part in action up to and including industrial action. …